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Sunday, July 3, 2011

Ipoh International Run 2011

I never have the intention to join the run until my friends told me about it. The decision was rather quick and impromptu. The registration process was amusing though since I asked my friends to do it for me. It is not my first time to participate in such long-distance run. Back in high school, I used to represent school for marathon, but never get any placement. Lol, my stamina is not really up-to-date as I rarely train . Somehow, I managed to complete those races without having much complication. Ah well, if I could survive 8 hours of whaling and kayaking during OBS, I guess this 10km run shouldn't be a problem.

Didn't really train much for this run. Registered on Thursday afternoon and the race is only 3 days away. Just went for jogging and swimming 2 days before the event and thought that I am already pumped up to run. Lol. Waking up as early as 4.00am to have my breakfast, we headed towards Stadium Indera Mulia with the feeling of, I don't know, excitement or anxiousness?Didn't really get to sleep well and I was a little concerned I might not be able to sustain the momentum to reach the finishing line.

The crowd at the stadium was overwhelming. Seniors citizens to little children of all races filled up the field. It was not my goal to get any placement. Rather, I would be happy enough if I could complete the race within the time limit. For my category, I need to complete the 10km within 80 minutes in order to get the certificate of achievement. An average of 8minutes per kilometer, I thought it is achievable for an indoor guy like me. Flagged off at 7.05am, the run began.

Completed the first 4 kilometers within 25minutes with non-stop running and started to lose momentum bit by bit. Slowing down, the slow-pace running became fast-pace walking. Accumulated enough momentum before continuing. 2km away from the finishing line, the route became crowded with participants of all categories and this drove me to overtake them and when the start/finish banner was visible, I sprinted all the way till the end and completed the race within 60minutes! A pretty good personal achievement for me. =)

Yen Hua, me and Wai Choong: Completed the race with a smile on our faces!

The whole race is all about being mind over body. Thing you thought is not possible is achievable when you put your mind into it. The thought of accomplishing the race and being positive out of impossibility, that is truly breathtaking.